Speed limiters: Quebec buys time to get ECM testing equipment

The province of Quebec, one of two jurisdictions in Canada that are now enforcing a speed-limiter mandate for heavy trucks, is buying time to get the necessary testing equipment in place.

Hard enforcement of the mandate technically began July 1 in Quebec and in neighboring Ontario, but Quebec may take until July 31 to get the portable testing equipment in the hands of officers.

Ontario enforcement officers – at least a number of them – possess the hand-held devices to check engine speed settings via the trucks’ dash port.

Laws in Ontario and Quebec require that all trucks 1995 and newer grossing more than 26,000 pounds be equipped with a working speed limiter set at a maximum of 105 kilometers per hour, about 65 mph, when traveling in those provinces – regardless of where the trucks are base plated.

Ontario officers have already handed out the first roadside fines of $390 to truckers not in compliance with the speed-limiter law.

Enforcement officials in Quebec said control measures in their province will be “gradually implemented.”

“Until July 31, 2009, a warning will be given to operators who do not comply with this new requirement,” officials stated.

There’s a catch to that, however. Truckers not in compliance in Quebec will have seven days from the time of a warning to get up to speed – or in this case, down to speed – to show compliance and prevent a notice of violation.

Provincial transportation officials in Quebec stated in a press release that engine manufacturers, the OEMs, have issued no restrictions with regard to the hand-held monitoring devices.

“These devices are used solely to verify data in relation to the speed limiter,” transport officials said.